Aliferous
by Tigerrosewood
Summary: When a scientist is willing to pay a lot of money to get back something that was stolen from him, the guardians take the job. But they soon realize that the cargo there carrying is worth more than the sum they were offered, and more dangerous than they expected.
1. Chapter 1

"How much?"

"100,000 units."

"Are you serious?!"

Rocket and Quill stared at Gamora in disbelief.

"100,000 units to nab a stolen box from Knowhere?"

"That is all we have to do."

The two men looked at each other, then back to their green partner.

"That can't be it." Quill said skeptically.

"What's in the box?" Rocket suddenly asked, baby Groot crawling up his shoulder.

Gamora sighed.

"That is on a need to know basis, and unless the asset is damaged we do not need to know."

They had been going back and forth on the issue for almost thirty minutes, trying to decide what to do. The call had been made earlier that day for their help to get back what was taken.

Rocket and Drax were all for it. They were low on supplies in the ship, and the job would help them replenish. Plus there would be enough units for extra luxuries they didn't usually get to have.

"Do we at least get to know why the damn thing is so important?" Rocket questioned.

Gamora turned in her seat and typed at the control panel on the wall, pulling up some information.

"Mova Yank, a scientist and alien zoologist." She explained.

The picture on the screen was of a yellow alien in a lab coat. He had large black eyes and a scowling expression set on his face.

"Three days ago his research facility was attacked. Everything that was taken can be replaced, except for what is in the box."

Quill was still skeptical, but eventually gave in and set their course for Knowhere.

Drax and Rocket went to suit up while Gamora and Peter navigated the Milano.

"So how are we supposed to find the box once we get there?" The Terren asked.

"Whatever is in the box has a tracking device on it. Mova gave me the coordinates and will contact us if it's location changes."

Quill sighed and stood from his seat, moving to the latter so he could get suited up.

Everyone was suited up and ready as they landed the Milano in a docking bay. Even Groot was given a suit in his size once he was large enough to join them on missions. The little plant being sat on Rocket's shoulder as they descended the ship and followed Gamora, who had the location of the cargo they came to get.

They where moving closer the the center of the giant head as they came closer to their destination.

Rocket was hoping that whoever had what they came for didn't want to give it up so easily, his trigger happy self ready for a fight. When he commented about it Gamora told him that they were not to fight if they could help it. They needed to get the box and get out without damaging it.

Rocket grumbled about her wanting to suck the fun out of everything.

As they came closer to their destination they noticed that the center of the head was less populated than the outer edges. Gamora wasn't sure if this was a good sign or not.

"This is it." She stated as they stopped in front of a large building that looked like a warehouse. There were no windows and the only entrance seemed to be somewhere around the building.

"Rocket, you and Groot take the roof."

"Got it." The raccoon strapped his gun on his back and climbed up the side drain, his plant companion still on his shoulder.

"Drax, go around and take the back entrance. If you see anyone, tell us."

The large tattooed man nodded and grabbed his knifes, moving cautiously around the building. Gamora moved to the door in front of them and crouched down, Quill standing to keep watch.

Rocket moved around on the roof until he found a vent they could get through. Baby Groot used his branches to pry it open then hopped on his friend's back as he crawled through. They moved through the duct until they came up on an opening where they could see the entire wearhouse floor, completely filled with stolen items from across the galaxy.

"Holy shit, guys." Rocket said as he pressed his ear peace.

"What is it, rodent?" Gamora questioned, pausing her work on the door. Everyone froze wear they stood and tensed.

Ignoring her quip, his eyes swept over the inside of the building.

"Theirs a fortune worth of stolen crap in here."

Gamora rolled her eyes and went back to opening the door. "Is there anyone in the building?"

Rocket pushed the vent opening out and jumped down onto a crate. "No, the place is empty." He thought is was a little weird. Nobody was going to leave hundreds of thousands of units worth of stolen cargo unattended, especially on Knowhere. Groot also voiced his concerns as Gamora finally got the door open. Drax came in from the back and everyone met in the middle of the room.

Quill looked like he had found the holy grail as he looked around the room. As if Gamora could read his mind, she spoke up.

"We are only taking what we came here for, so do not touch anything." She gave Rocket a pointed look before turning and walking through the maze of crates and boxes. The gunman scoffed and jumped down from the crate he was standing on to follow her. She held a small box in her hand that beeped every few minutes as they slowly moving around the building, look for their prize. As they got closer to the back the beeping sound grew more rapid, until they were standing in front of a large steel crate strapped down multiple times to a hover cart.

"How the hell are we supposed to get this out of here?" Rocket questioned.

Gamora examined the box for a moment before speaking.

"Quill, go get the ship and bring it here. " she told him. "We will load it up and leave as soon as we can, we do not know when someone will come back to get it."

The Terren nodded and left quickly get the Milano. Rocket jumped up on the hover cart and moved around the large metal box. He wondered what was in it that was so important and why they couldn't know what it was. He tapped the side of the crate with his claw to see what would happen.

"Rocket!"

He jumped, his head snapping to the side to see the green assassin glaring at him. He huffed and got down from the cart, going to see if there was anything he could sneak onto the ship without getting caught.

He didn't notice Groot had moved off of his shoulder and was standing on the cart next to the box, starting at it strangely.


	2. Chapter 2

Quill came back with the ship and moved it around to the back of the building, opening the hatch so they could put the box in the storage unit at the back of the Milano. They thought about taking the crate off of the hover cart, but decided to just move the whole thing into the ship. Maybe they could keep it after all of this was done.

Drax pushed the cart up into the storage unit and they locked it down so it couldn't move. Before they locked the hatch Rocket ran through and grabbed Groot, who was still on the hover cart with the box.

As they walked out the gunman put his small plant being on his shoulder.

"What were you doing?" he asked as Quill closed the door.

Everyone sat in there seat and buckled up, preparing to make a fast exit. Quill quickly drove the ship out of Knowhere while Gamora called their client to tell him they had retrieved the box. From what the green assassin told them, the man sounded pleased. He gave them the coordinates to his facility and they set off.

Quill, who was in a good mood from nothing bad happening on the job, turned on his music and began to sing loudly and out of toon. Gamora rolled her eyes at his antics while she piloted the ship. Drax laughed along with him and celebrated there victory.

No one noticed Rocket and Groot quietly conversing in the back, the plant creature talking quickly in his way that only the raccoon seemed to understand.

 **. . .**

As the crew got closer to their destination, they noticed a large, almost giant ship. It was almost the size of a small planet, and the closer they got the bigger it seemed to become.

Everyone stared out the window of the Milano, a docking bay opening up for them to set down the ship.

"Welcome friends." Came a voice through the ships com. They were told to dock their ship and Mova would meet them and talk about their payment.

"Rocket, you and Groot stay here with the cargo."

Normally the gunman would complain about being left on the ship while everyone else went to out, but today he kept his mouth shut and nodded.

Gamora, Quill and Drax exited the ship and met a man who he assumed was the one who called on them. Once the ship hatch closed Rocket grabbed Groot and quickly moved to the back of the ship. He open the door to the storage hull and closed it behind him.

 **. . .**

Mova Yank seemed to be a kind person, despite his appearance. He told them many times how grateful he was to have his most prized possession back in the safety of the medical facility. He still wouldn't say exactly what was in the box that had been stolen from them, but he said it was worth more then anything else on his entire ship.

When Quill started asking about their payment, earning him a smack to the back of the head from Gamora, Mova assured them that as soon as his box was placed safely in containment, he would transfer the units as promised.

They were told to move the crate from their ship and some of his workers would come and retrieve it.

Before Quill could say anything stupid, Gamora reassured him that they would handle the crate with the utmost care. With a satisfied smile, Mova sent them back to the Milano. As they boarded the ship and went down to the storage hull, they noticed Rocket and Groot were already there. The raccoon was moving around the crate erratically, Groot sitting on the edge of the hover cart.

"Rocket?" Asked Quill. " What are you doing."

Ignoring his question, the gunman spoke what was on his mind.

"Did that wack job pay you yet?"

Gamora and her human counterpart exchanged looks.

"We do not get paid until Mova has the box in his possession." Explained the green assassin.

Rocket let a frustrated growl and pulled at his fur.

"We need to get out of here, now!" He exclaimed. Quill was the first one to speak up.

"We are this close." He said, hold up his almost touching fingers. "To getting paid 100,000 units. Why in the hell would we leave now."

Rocket raised up, and even through the human was taller, the raccoon still managed to stare him down.

"Because _Star-lord,_ Yank is doing illegal experiments on living creatures!"

Everyone was taken back by what their companion said.

"How do you know this?" Drax asked.

Rocket didn't say anything, he just moved behind the crate and some boxed hidden in the corner. The rest of the group hesitantly followed him around the boxes to see something they absolutely did not expect.

Sitting in the corner, curled in on itself, was a small, child like looking creature. Everyone stared as it lifted it's head and showed off large, unnaturally green eyes.

"What the fuck!"


End file.
